Pipeline
| ID | INDIGO-PL-0163 |
|---|---|
| Project Name - (Value) | Sierra Leone Early Childhood Education Outcomes Fund |
| Alternative Names - (Value) | Salone Pikin 4 Play en Lan |
| Contact - Name - (Value) | Adriana Balducci |
| Contact - Email - (Value) | adriana@edufundmea.org |
| State of Development - (Value) | Current |
| State of Development - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Stage of Development - (Value) | Final negotiations |
| Stage of Development - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Type of instrument and project - Outcomes Fund - (Value) | Yes |
| (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Part of a larger outcomes-based financing program? - Part of a larger outcomes-based financing program? - (Value) | No |
| Part of a larger outcomes-based financing program? - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Dates - Expected length of project (years) - (Value) | 4 |
| Dates - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Rationale for using outcome based finance - (Value) | Sierra Leone is a priority country for EOF portfolio of programmes. The Government of Sierra Leone, in partnership with EOF, launched an Outcomes Fund at the primary level to increase learning outcomes in primary school children (SLEIC). The government solidifed its willingness to explore innovative financing mechanisms to increase the outcomes of children in the education sector. Former Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and current Chief Minister David Sengeh has championed the use of innovative finance at scale to help build a nascent ECCE sector in the country and ensure the value-for-money of education interventions. Following the successful launch of the SLEIC programme, President Bio unveiled an exciting new chapter in Sierra Leone's journey for quality education: the ECCE programme, a testament to the commitment and resolute political will driving this enduring partnership. |
| (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Role of the domestic government - Outcomes funder - (Value) | Yes |
| Role of the domestic government - Member of project committee - (Value) | Yes |
| Role of the domestic government - Other - (Value) | Open call for expression of interest |
| (Source ID's) | source1 |
| (Notes) | Criteria includes: - Experience working in Sierra Leone - Experience implementing programmes relevant to the outcomes fund objective (access, quality including both structural and process quality and holistic child development) - Evidence of results of past interventions - Experience working with vulnerable groups and in remote areas - Experience workign with community engagement - Experience implementing at scale with partners |
| Service providers identified and selected - Request-for-proposals - (Value) | Yes |
| (Source ID's) | source1 |
| (Notes) | In negotiation and due diligence process of service providers |
| Feasibility study - (Value) | Yes |
| (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Technical assistance grant - Technical assistance grant - (Value) | No |
| Technical assistance grant - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Overall project finance - Estimated Maximum potential outcome payment - Currency - (Value) | USD |
| Overall project finance - Estimated Maximum potential outcome payment - Amount - (Value) | 17000000 |
| Overall project finance - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Purpose and classifications - Social/Developmental challenge - (Value) | 1. Limited but growing financial resources to the sector. 2. The recent prioritisation of ECCE by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) also means that several of the administrative and institutional structures needed to support the rapid expansion of the sector are still in development. Firstly, there is limited data, especially on quality of ECCE provision and on the functioning of the more informal parts of the ECCE sector such as community ECD centres. Limited oversight and monitoring of ECD centres have resulted in an incomplete picture of the ECCE provision. In turn, this leads to an absence of evidence to inform policy, particularly on informal provision and its quality. Finally, as the sector develops, interventions have been more focused on activities/inputs and outputs rather than on outcomes, such as child development. In following the GoSL existing commitment to impact, it will be critical moving forward that accountability structures focus on impact on child development to ensure that existing efforts are translated into improved outcomes for children. 3. Process and structural quality are limited due to infrastructure constraints and insufficient pedagogy rollout. There is a limited use of age-appropriate pedagogy as the new standards have not been translated into practice yet. Some pre-primary centres lack basic facilities: for example, 24% of pre-primary centres had no access to running water in 2021, and most teachers are not trained in using child-centred approaches. These structural constraints combine to create a situation of insufficient supply of ECCE services. Additionally, there is a limited use of age-appropriate pedagogy as the new standards have not been translated into practice yet. A lack of capacity to systemically monitor the process quality of these centres also limits the information available on their suitability to meet instructional quality standards. There are also demand-side forces that impact the rollout of process quality improvements, such as limited parental awareness of the importance of ECCE and age-appropriate and play-based pedagogies for children’s holistic development and learning, which leads to limited demand for these programmes in some areas |
| Purpose and classifications - Expected intervention model - (Value) | The primary objective of this programme is to expand access to quality early learning opportunities to achieve the ultimate goal of improving holistic child development outcomes for children aged 3-5 in Sierra Leone to better prepare them for the next stage of education. This programme aims to complement existing programmes, such as the proposed GPE funding which aims to expand the pre-primary sector through establishing P0 classrooms within primary schools with UNICEF acting as grant agent. Through complementary efforts, rather than doubling interventions of the same type, this programme can help rapidly expand access to ECCE and find synergies with other programmes to benefit implementers across both programmes. |
| Purpose and classifications - Policy sector - Education - (Value) | Yes |
| Purpose and classifications - Policy sector - Early Childhood Education - (Value) | Yes |
| Purpose and classifications - Primary SDG goal - (Value) | 4 |
| Purpose and classifications - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Service users and beneficiaries - Target population - (Value) | Children ages 3-5 inclusive |
| Service users and beneficiaries - Targeted number of unique service users or beneficiaries (total) - (Value) | Estimated a direct reach of up to 29,700 unique children possibility of expanding it to around 63,700 participating children. EOF expects that 115- new ECCE centres will be open through the programme, benefiting the families within the selected areas |
| Service users and beneficiaries - Country Classification of Service and beneficiaries - Low-income - (Value) | Yes |
| Service users and beneficiaries - (Source ID's) | source1 |
| Service users and beneficiaries - (Notes) | The 3-5 age range aligns with the Sierra Leone Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2022-26, which includes three years in formal pre-primary education, starting at age three, and also gives the intervention a longer opportunity to achieve impact prior to the transition to primary school. |
| Notes - (Value) | Data for this pipeline project/programme was last updated in August 2024. |
| Delivery Locations 1: Location - Name - (Value) | Sierra Leone |
| Delivery Locations 1: Location - Country - (Value) | SL |
| Delivery Locations 1: Notes | Nationally, targeting focusing in areas with the highest need for pre-primary, mostly rural areas. |
| Sources 1: Id | source1 |
| Sources 1: Name - (Value) | ECCE Pipeline Project identified through Collective Learning Initiative's Phase 1 desk review done by NORRAG, Ecorys and GO Lab |
| Service Provisions 1: Notes | Open call for expression of interest. Criteria includes - Experience working in Sierra Leone - Experience implementing programmes relevant to the outcomes fund objective (access, quality including both structural and process quality and holistic child development) - Evidence of results of past interventions - Experience working with vulnerable groups and in remote areas - Experience workign with community engagement - Experience implementing at scale with partners |
| Outcome Metrics 1: Id | outcomemetric1 |
| Outcome Metrics 1: Outcome Definition - (Value) | Centres are safe for children before they open During the first year of implementation, payments will be tied to the number of centres that are established in existing infrastructure which meet minimum safety and child protection requirements. This metric was included to lower the risk transfer to providers and to translate government's priorities in meeting minimum requirements for the opening of new centres. |
| Outcome Metrics 1: Notes | To achieve the programme's objectives, during the first year, grantees will be paid for a payment metric related with centres being safe for children before they open to meet the government requirements for new centres. This also ensures some costs are recouped early-on in implementation. For subsquent years, grantees will be paid based on their performance on four additional payment metrics This metric will be measured using a shorter version of the ECCE minimum standards checklist17. These standards were created by the GoSL, and they state the minimum contents, materials and practices that are expected in ECCE classes and centres in Sierra Leone. EOF will work in close collaboration with the MBSSE and an ECCE expert to develop the short version of items based on the ECCE minimum standards. The final items will focus on those minimum conditions that require less investment and time from providers before ECD centres can open there will be two measurement periods during the first school year to give centres that do not meet minimum requirements on the first measurement a second chance. In addition, an infrastructure expert will assess the conditions of a sample of the facilities within the targeted areas for a better understanding of their current status. |
| Outcome Metrics 2: Id | outcomemetric2 |
| Outcome Metrics 2: Outcome Definition - (Value) | Increased access of children ages 3-5 within teacher child ratios Since access remains a critical challenge in Sierra Leone and one of the top government’s priorities, the programme will pay for the number of children aged 3-5 years attending ECD centres within teacher child ratios. This metric was also included since the ECCE sector in Sierra Leone is nascent and there is a need for building ECCE awareness through community engagement activities, which providers are well placed to deliver and will ultimately result in an increase in the number of children attending ECD centres. |
| Outcome Metrics 2: Notes | Attendance will be measured using centre attendance records. These records will be independently verified by the evaluation firm through random spot checks made during the school year. The exact definition of when and how spot checks will happen will be refined in a later stage of the design by the measurement expert and the selection of the independent evaluation firm. The centres’ capacity would be defined using the teacher:child ratio established by the ECCE minimum standards checklist, which currently stands for one educator and one helper for 25-30 children. |
| Outcome Metrics 3: Id | outcomemetric3 |
| Outcome Metrics 3: Outcome Definition - (Value) | Settings and practices meeting quality standards – Structural quality Considering that structural quality is a key determinant of the quality of ECD centres, the programme will tie payments to the number of ECD centres that achieve minimums or levels (i.e., thresholds) of defined quality (e.g., medium, high). Desired levels of structural quality will be defined using the ECCE standards checklist. However, specific details of how this checklist can be translated into desired levels of quality will be determined in close collaboration with the ECCE measurement expert and in close collaboration with MBSSE. |
| Outcome Metrics 3: Notes | Desired levels of structural quality will be defined using the ECCE standards checklist. However, specific details of how this checklist can be translated into desired levels of quality will be determined in close collaboration with the ECCE measurement expert and in close collaboration with MBSSE. |
| Outcome Metrics 4: Id | outcomemetric4 |
| Outcome Metrics 4: Outcome Definition - (Value) | Settings and practices meeting quality standards – Process quality In addition to structural quality, the programme will incentivise process quality given its close link with holistic child development outcomes. |
| Outcome Metrics 4: Notes | Since the GoSL has not yet developed a tool to measure process quality, together with the support of the ECCE measurement expert and in consultation with the Measurement Advisory Board, EOF will select the most appropriate internationally validated tool to measure process quality. The ECCE measurement consultant will assess international tools such as TEACH ECE, MELE or BEQI for use in this programme according to the Sierra Leone context. Payments for this metric will be conditioned to either the number of ECD centres that achieve minimums or levels (i.e., thresholds) of defined quality (e.g., medium, high) or to the increase in the average score in the selected measurement tool. The decision of the best indicator will depend on the final selection of the measurement tool and the tool’s scoring (i.e., how results are reported). |
| Outcome Metrics 5: Id | outcomemetric5 |
| Outcome Metrics 5: Outcome Definition - (Value) | Improved holistic child development outcomes As part of EOF’s mission to focus on outcomes, the programme aims to link a substantial portion of the payments to children’s holistic developmental outcomes |
| Outcome Metrics 5: Notes | Together with the ECCE measurement expert, EOF will define the most appropriate tool to measure holistic child development outcomes. Ideally, this metric will be measured using an adapted version of the newly developed “Child’s Progress and Achievement Report”. However, the ECCE measurement consultant will undertake a technical assessment of this tool vis-à-vis its appropriateness for use in an OBF programme. In case the “Child’s Progress and Achievement Report” is assessed not to be a suitable tool to use for OBF, the ECCE measurement expert will support the recommendation of the most appropriate internally validated tool for the given local context and OBF requirements. Payments for this metric will be attributed to an increase in the average score of the selected measurement tool. The decision on the exact unit of how these increases will be measured will be defined once the evaluation methodology is recommended |